Plan Your Visit to Our Historic Center
Our Venues
Come visit PVHA where we bring the history of Pajaro Valley alive. We are open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 11 AM to 3 PM or by appointment. Start your visit at our office on the first floor of the Bockius-Orr House. Admission is free but we suggest a donation of $5 to help us preserve our heritage for all to enjoy and and maintain this historic center.
Contact us to arrange a group tour for adults or school children of the house, museum and gardens — or to rent our beautiful facilities for receptions, weddings and small dinner parties.
Here is an introduction to our historic site:
Bockius-Orr House & Garden
Historic Bockius-Orr House and Garden is an elegant, Italianate Victorian home built for the Bockius family in 1870. It is situated on one acre in downtown Watsonville, the site of a 70-acre farm established in 1852 by Godfrey Bockius, a Philadelphia merchant. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places and was occupied by four generations of the Bockius family until donated to the Pajaro Valley Historical Association in 1993. The main floor of the Bockius-Orr house is open to visitors and houses rotating exhibits from the extensive costume collection. Learn more.
Borina Archive
Borina Archive and Alzora Snyder and Jane Borg Research Center contains a 70-year old collection of photographs and manuscripts, small artifacts, oral histories, family genealogies, town directories, local business histories, ethnic heritage history, produce labels, maps, posters, small paintings and drawings, and antique dolls and toys. Learn more and watch a virtual tour of the Archive and Research Center
Volck Museum
Volck Museum located in the Carriage House houses a delightful collection of antiques and items from the valley’s past. Learn more.
Clothing Collection Building
PVHA Clothing Collection building is now used to store the collection and stage exhibits for display in the house and elsewhere.
Tank House
Tank House pumped and stored water from a nearby well. It houses special exhibits. Learn more.